


Jugdral: Outrealms and Outlierealms

by Cyber_Emblem



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu | Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
Genre: Azelle x Briggid 2nd, F/M, Gen, Lene and Corpul role swap 3rd, Seliph x Larcei 1st chapter, an experimental fic, might as well be crack pairs, rarepairs, the above aren't the only couples, written like a journal entry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2020-04-11 10:59:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19108288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyber_Emblem/pseuds/Cyber_Emblem
Summary: An experimental fic. Made to celebrate the 4th anniversary of Crusaders Reborn. Set in Jugdral but not in the same continuity as C.R. I'm testing the waters and fielding my ideas for a multiverse, because I love the concept. I really just did this for fun, I hope you guys can enjoy this.Was originally a oneshot, but is now its own series. Officially a Jugdral multiverse series.





	1. Outrealms: A Fitting Irony

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is here to celebrate the 4th anniversary of Crusaders Reborn. It's my first Jugdral fic that is not in continuity with C.R. The opening is incredibly long and written like a scatterbrained journal entry. I openly admit that. I did this for fun. I love the concept of the multiverse, so I thought this was a decent excuse just to write whatever came to mind and establish my concept of one firmly. Believe it or not, I actually cut some stuff from the opening. We'll see, this could be the start of a new series, it depends on how its received and how I'm feeling about it afterwards. I'm putting the journal parts in italics. If you want to skip all that crap, skip the italics. I hope you guys get some enjoyment out of this. I did. As always, please leave a review and enjoy
> 
> P.S. part of my inspiration is an old piece of fanart. Type in Seliph and Larcei somewhere you can find fanart, and you should find the picture. I believe it's called "Trade a sister for a wife, trade a brother for a husband".
> 
> -Cyber Emblem

 

* * *

_I can go anywhere, you know. The omniverse is vast and endless. I can go someplace completely and utterly new fairly easily. And yet, I never seem to. I'm always drawn to the same few multiversal streams with little exception._

_I honestly don't know why I find the worlds containing a Fire Emblem so fascinating, I just do. So I'm constantly visiting them, and out of all the locations I currently know of, Jugdral is the one I visit most frequently._

_And one thing I noticed about this continent, and its major conflict, is that despite the fact that most of the couples on the heroes side can be made up of essentially any two individuals, the same individuals keep winding up together with remarkable consistency._

_I've checked multiple times. Technically, only the unions of Quan and Ethlyn and and of Deidre and her two husbands are considered set points in time, and yet the same few couples keep popping up despite the fact that there should be some variety. I have to go out of my way to find that variety actuality, which… honestly intrigues me._

_Why is this a thing? Honestly, I have better things to do than stick my nose into the romantic lives of Sigurd and Seliph's armies, and yet, for some reason, I keep checking for variety whenever I visit a new Jugdral._

_Here's an example. the lacerating Larcei, daughter of the awesome and annihilating Ayra. Technically, she can wind up with any of the boys, but she usually winds up with either one of the Dozel brothers or… her cousin Shanan. Which is incredibly creepy if you ask me. Then again, half the time, the Dozels are her cousins too so…_

_It's like this, like… 95% of the time. I had to go out of the way where she wound up with someone else, and the Dozel boy actually wound up with someone else in the army. I have seen her wind up with Seliph, like, three times. And no one else. He's the only exception I've witnessed so far. And I've visited well over twenty Jugdrals._

_As for Seliph himself, I usually see him wind up with Lana, though I have seen him fall for either Tine or Patty a couple of times. Or someone who usually doesn't exist. I don't think I've EVER seen him wind up with Fee, Nanna, or Lene or the counterparts. Ever._

_I guess that despite having OPTIONS, the multiverse loves consistency. Like constantly screwing me over. That's a complete option you know, multiverse… you don't need to keep doing that. You don't have to keep giving me crap. I've had more than enough at this point._

_So anyways, this log is designed to tell stories. So I guess I'll make great use of it and use it to tell of one of the times that Larcei and Seliph wound up being a thing. I suppose that's a good use of my time and abilities. Yea, I guess that this proves that you don't have to be a woman in order to be a gossipy hen…_

_Of course, this whole time I've been complaining, multiverse, omniverse, so some of you might be wondering just what the hell I'm talking about. Since you are here for a story and not a long winded explanation, I'll keep it a short as a guy who loves to monologue can possibly keep it._

_Imagine that the omniverse is a giant cork board Now, the cork board I had back at home wasn't all in one piece. Instead, it was divided into several large squares. Each square is a multiverse set. What do I mean by sets? All of the realms that contain Fire Emblems, all the ones that contain monsters that fit in your pocket, and all those involving a plumber who doesn't actually do his job each make up an individual set._

_All the holes in the cork? Those are actually multiverses in themselves. Jugdral is one hole in the cork, Magvel is another, etc. Each individual universe is inside those holes… somehow. I think it's whatever the hell that is holding the cork together. I don't know, I don't do science, I just take advantage of it._

_If you want an explanation of nexus realms where worlds or people who shouldn't meet do. Umm… all the cork is on a single wall, and they are all technically touching/are adjacent to one another. That's all the explanation you're getting right now._

_I have my own organization system for all of this crap, but that's not important right now. I'll explain at the end. Maybe._

_But yea, to boil it all down… this crap is complicated, and I had to go to a transition point to find the universe that this tale takes place in. Basically. ¾ of cork is the same events with "little" variations, making up normal Outrealms. That last quarter? Outliers where the normal rules of the timeline get thrown out the window. A transition point? The meeting place of the two._

_I usually visit these when I want to see something that normally doesn't happen. Like Eliwood marrying Fiora, Roy marrying anyone other than Lilina, or Xander, Azura and Corrin not throwing common sense out of the F * &ing window._

_As a result of this, Larcei/Seliph was probably one of the most standard hookups I saw in that world. Let's do a checklist, shall we? Lachesis found Holyn attractive this time around, and somehow wound up with him._

_Ayra and Beowulf were trying to help one another in their attempts to woo the former two… and wound up wooing each other in the process._

_The womanizing knight from Chalphy SOMEHOW seduced the angelic knight, the girl who had lost her cheer found kinship and comfort with the thief, the dancer gave the ugly knight some TLC._

_The priestess who started it all wound up with the priest who predicted the end of it all, and the heir of Jungby gave her ear, then eventually her heart and womb to the hopeless romantic from Velthomer._

_Actually, that last one is an interesting story in of itself, but you're not here for that. No I can talk about the odd couples later, for now, I'm here to tell you the tale of the twins of Isaac and the heirs of Grannvale._

* * *

Larcei was never very interested in personal romance. She wasn't opposed to it. The matters simply was… it just wasn't her thing, as like Lachesis before her, she set for herself some particularly high standards that she didn't _actually_ expect for anyone to pass.

However, despite her disinterest in romantic pursuits relating to herself, she _loved_ to play matchmaker with other people. For example, her best friend, Cridne.

The poor girl had almost been violated, and had thus entered a passionate misandry phase. Larcei managed to break through to her through talk and finagling Diarmund into her life. The young man was a true gentleman, essentially the epitome of his mother's standards for the male sex.

He was so incessantly kind, that Larcei wasn't sure that any other man could have broken through her shell. Now the two were a dedicated couple. It was almost a shame, he pretty much fit all of Larcei's standards as well.

If it weren't for the circumstances, she might've actually given him a chance herself, he was simply that great a guy.

Larcei also helped that family by nursing the romantic life of Cridne's twin, Dalvin. He'd been fond of an Isaacian cleric in training named Mana for quite some time. Thanks to Larcei's incessant prodding, he'd finally stepped up and gotten his girl.

She was rather proud of that one. But all of her scheming and all of her plans were secondary to her main goal, finding a match for her twin brother.

He'd dated a few of the Tirnanogue girls, but he'd always break it off after a few months at best. Larcei was pretty sure that the current record holder was Lana, lasting for three months.

This gave Larcei an impression, that her brother wasn't interested in the Isaacian stock, but rather in "exotic" women. Though, let's be frank here, Larcei's definition of "exotic" was "doesn't have black, brown, or blonde hair or look remotely Isaacian".

While this still gave her a broad range to work with in a world with a population of Technicolor hair, it did help too narrow her search. Especially since she actually had a specific hair type in mind. She was looking for a silver-haired maiden.

She had noticed in their youth that Ulster had always seemed awestruck by images of the late Empress Deirdre. And she also vividly remembered a couple of incidents where they met a woman with silver hair a Tirnanogue. While everyone else had reacted to her presence in a relatively normal fashion, Ulster would stare at her wide eyed and openmouthed, with no explanation. Every time.

Taking this into account sealed the deal for her. She knew a war with the empire was coming, and as soon as they started moving, she would seek out a silver-haired maiden, bait her, then throw her in Ulster's general direction.

Then eat popcorn in the aftermath. (I made that last one up. They didn't actually have corn in Jugdral. It sucks to be them).

* * *

As you probably know, she didn't need to search very hard. Lewyn delivered Julia right into her clutches. Of course, she had to do a balancing act, because at about the same time, Johan was recruited into their ranks and he was _very_ interested in courting Larcei. Thus she had to balance her matchmaking attempts and being matched herself.

This is where Seliph comes into play. Larcei had always considered him a good friend. He respected her boundaries and generally acted as a voice of reason, which she acknowledged that she kind of needed. Her matchmaking schemes could get a little insane at times, and he was consistently there to keep her grounded.

Once, she had blown him off… only for her scheme to spectacularly blow up in her face. She didn't blow him off anymore. So, while on their way to the Isaacian capital, she related her plan to him.

"Umm… I'm like, 95% certain that Lewyn sees her as a daughter and that that translates into 'I will freaking murder you if you break her heart in a matchmaking scheme. Or match her, period.' That's the vibe I'm getting anyways." was how he responded.

"…The way I see it, he wants us to bring her comfort and happiness. What, do you think that Ulster can't do that?" responded Larcei after a brief hesitation.

"I'm not saying that, but are you _sure_ that you've guessed correctly? About Ulster and silver hair, I mean."

"You saw how he reacted when Julia first showed up. You tell me if I'm right, Royal Blue." retorted Larcei.

Seliph considered this for about half a second before he said "OK. Yea, I think that you're right about Ulster's type. But how can you be certain that _she'll_ love _him_? She only seems interested in following me around."

"Oh, that's simple. Just keep Ulster and I near you at all times. Claim we're bodyguards, or something. That way, we'll be near when she is near if she's going to follow you literally everywhere."

"OK… I can see Ulster being satisfied with that, but are you sure that you'll be happy, being kept away from the thick of battle like that?"

Larcei snorted "Kept away? Royal Blue, you're like, the imperial enemy number one. They're going to be targeting your pretty head on a pretty consistent basis. Being stuck by you will probably **keep** me in the thick of it. Besides, constantly being with you will help me."

"…How's that?" asked Seliph, almost afraid to ask.

"You'd be keeping me away from mister Dreamy Dozel. There are going to be social events, war or not, and he'll try to cut in and dance with me, I can guarantee it. You can help me stop that by dancing with me instead. You'd appreciate the opportunity, wouldn't you?"

Now poor Seliph nearly had a heart attack. The truth of the matter was, he'd had something resembling a crush on Larcei for a while now, and he was a bit jealous of the attention that Johan was attempting to shower on her. This statement _immediately_ made him think "Oh gods! Does she know?!"

Larcei didn't actually know until this precise moment, when she witnessed Seliph's reaction to her statement. Seliph had an awful poker face, while Larcei had mastered hers. So while he panicked, she thought to herself, "Huh, so you actually have a thing for me, Royal Blue? Eh, could be worse. I'd rather screw you than that Dozel boy any day. This could make things interesting. Balancing you, pawning off Johan onto someone else, and taking care of my brother… this could very well turn out to be my best matchmaking game ever!

* * *

With this mindset ingrained into her thoughts, she moved forward with her plan. When Isaac was taken, the people held a celebration in their honor. Larcei made sure to keep herself attached to "Royal Blue", throughout the whole thing, in order to deny their respective prospective lovers a chance.

She was somewhat displeased by the fact that Ulster didn't jump at the chance to dance with Julia, and that for the first part of it, she was standing to the side looking morose and lonely.

So, Larcei decided to make a gamble, during a lull, she approached Julia, and said, "do you want to hear a secret?"

Julia jolted in surprise "Oh! Umm… if you want to tell me, I guess it's ok…" she mumbled.

Larcei grinned and whispered in her ear "You see my brother over there, the guy with black hair and armor like mine standing on his own? Here's something he never intended to be public knowledge. He _loves_ silver haired maidens."

" _ **What?!**_ " squeaked Julia, face rapidly growing red.

"Oh, don't worry, he's never consummated his love, but he's always been fascinated by girls with silver hair. He always adopts the same stupid gob-smacked expression whenever one shows up, and he always goes silent. He never goes into detail about it, but it's my duty as his twin sister to take note of these things." said Larcei, grinning like a shark.

"Why don't you go and make his day?"

" _What?!_ " squealed Julia, like a pig about to be slaughtered.

"Go to him, ask for a dance. Don't worry, he'll be just as embarrassed about it as you. So you'll be perfect together."

"But…I…umm…he…" whined Julia.

"I have eyes, you know." whispered Larcei. "I've noticed how you've been looking at my Royal Blue. I'm keeping him as my dance partner for my own reasons. But if you do me this favor and give my brother his dream dance, I promise, I'll let you have one with my Royal Blue."

Now, Julia had sharp ears, and she had heard of Larcei's matchmaking habit already, so she had an inkling of what she was up to. She had actually hoped that she'd use that skill to help her get Selph's attention.

While she was disappointed about how things actually turned out, she noticed Larcei's word usage. How she referred to Seliph by a pet name, and how she kept referring to him as "my" when she referred to him.

Thus, she came to this conclusion. That Larcei wanted Seliph for herself, and that she had noticed Julia's own attraction. Instead of acting in a stereotypically jealous manner, Larcei was instead trying to get rid of her romantic rival in a nice way, by setting her up with someone else.

The facts that she was still willing to offer her a dance with Seliph, and that the guy she was trying to set her up with was he own twin, indicated that Larcei bore no malice towards her. After all, why would she want someone she hated as her sister in law?

Julia didn't want to strain the goodwill she had received, so she relented to Larcei's scheme.

Larcei grinned from ear to ear. Julia also had a terrible poker face, so it told Larcei that she had gotten the desired reaction. Larcei had chosen her words deliberately, and Julia was having exactly the reaction that she had intended, as far as she could tell.

She guided Julia by the hand to where her brother was. "Oh Ulster! Someone would like to dance with you. Why don't you treat this sweet young thing." she chirped in a singsong voice.

As Ulster gawked at them and Julia started to move forward, Larcei decided to go the funny route, and she manually shoved Julia into Ulster's arms and ran.

* * *

In the meantime, Johan had started out just as morose as Julia. He'd turned traitor, his father and brother were dead, and he couldn't even get a dance with the girl that he wanted.

Larcei had taken this into account, so she decided to attempt to throw him a bone and throw another girl in his direction. So, just before the dance, she had pulled Fee to the side and talked her into attempting to cheer Johan up.

So she catted him up and danced with him. It helped that she wasn't particularly fond of Arthur due to his… behavior. He was capable of being cheerful and friendly, but the way he displayed such emotions was somewhat… off-putting. She couldn't quite place her finger on why she felt that way about him.

As it turned out, she'd need to stay near Johan on a regular basis. The Isaacians, who made up most of their force, and Johan's defectors from Dozel did not get along very well at all. So, Fee thrust herself betwixt them as a sort of intermediary. (As Silessian nobility, her bias was considered less focused in this situation).

So, over time, Johan grew fond of her and her upbeat attitude, while she actually enjoyed his poetry. As a result, they actually wound up becoming a couple, and much sooner than Larcei would've anticipated, eliminating her, "I need to keep away from Johan" reasoning for sticking near Seliph. And she was frustrated by Ulster and Julia, as they were not visibly romantic (though they were working something out between them).

Then, along came Tine, and she wound up making a mess out of Larcei's mind. The young girl showed an obvious attraction to Seliph. Consciously, Larcei's first instinct was "oh, I should help her with that." but she quickly found that she didn't actually want to do that, for whatever reason.

This forced her to take pause and engage in some self-reflection. Then she realized, "Wait… am I getting… jealous here? Oh shit, I am. I guess my plan worked a little to well, and I'm falling for the Royal Blue after all!"

She sighed. So it seemed that now it was now time for her to take on a challenge she had never seriously considered. Matchmaking herself. But first, she had to take care of Tine.

After some consideration, she decided that perhaps the blunt approach would be for the best. It might be hurtful in the short term, but it could work out better for everyone in the long run.

So, she pulled Tine to the side and explained things to her. "Look, I like to play matchmaker, so I tend to notice when people are making longing glances. Like the ones that you've been giving Royal Blue."

"Who?" asked Tine.

"Seliph." said Larcei.

"Oh. So… are you… going to… help me?" asked Tine meekly.

Larcei hissed through her teeth. "Well, see, that's the thing, kid. My first instinct was, 'I'm totally going to help this kid.' But then, I quickly realized that I didn't actually want to help you. Which is weird for me, because I love doing this. So that's when I realized… yea, sorry kid, but it turns out that I want the Royal Blue for myself." she said, rubbing the back of her neck and delivering the most awkward grin in existence.

"…OH." said Tine, looking away. Larcei could hear her heart breaking with that one syllable. So she tried to intervene.

"OK, look, I wasn't planning on this. I grew up with him, and I always saw him as a good friend. Lately, I've been staying at his side more often as part of some other schemes I've got in the works. I guess I made them work to well and on myself unintentionally. Believe me, this wasn't part of my plan."

She shook her head "Look, I'm only telling you about this because I'm afraid of what I might do if I get jealous. I've always been a bit hot blooded, and I'll be the first to admit, I get _nasty_ when I'm pissed. And, well, gods know that you don't deserve to have me angry with you for no good reason. That's just unfair and heaping an extra layer of cruelty on top of what you've already been through."

Larcei sighed. "So, look. I can help you otherwise. I can help you find someone else. It's the least that I can do in this situation.

Tine just gave her a look. "Do… you _really_ think that you can find someone **else**?"

Larcei swallowed guiltily "I'll do my best, kid."

* * *

Tine was reluctant to trust Larcei or to go along with her, and so, for a while longer, her affections remained with Seliph. Eventually, Larcei managed to steer her in the direction of a certain other Noble Blue that she was familiar with.

His jokey demeanor actually managed to make her smile with regularity, something that she desperately needed in her life after the life she had lead. Though now, as a result of this Larcei had to contend with an angry Arthur, who was not pleased with Larcei's shenanigans.

Not only was he upset about his little sister's emotions being toyed with like this, he was upset with her because he'd been interested in Fee himself, and he knew what Larcei had done. This gave him the impression that Larcei was working against him.

So Larcei decided to attempt to hook him up with another Pegasus knight in order to get him off her back, but how to manage that? He was now on high alert and incredibly suspicious. He'd have zero trust in her involvement in any way if she attempted anything for his benefit.

She went to Seliph's room one night to complain about her difficulties and to see if he had any advice.

"See, this is what happens when you interfere with other people's romantic lives. Now, you're in too deep and you've screwed yourself over." said Seliph, sighing.

"Why did you have to interfere with Tine, anyways? You said that she was into me, right? I mean, I'm available, so I at the very least would have given her a chance. She's like an abused puppy that deserves a treat, if you ask me. Who knows it could have worked, I can think of a couple of reasons why we might have actually worked as a couple."

At that, Larcei froze and swallowed hard, then looked away as she said "Yea… well… it turns out that I don't exactly _want_ you to be considered available."

"What… what do you mean by that?" asked Seliph, heart skipping a beat.

Larcei turned around and settled herself on his lap. "I mean… when I thought about working my magic between the two of you, I realized… I had already been working my magic on myself, and I don't want a rival." Larcei looked at him and grinned "I see that you're catching my implication."

Seliph turned red and looked away.

"I know that you're interested but don't want to impose on me. I noticed a while ago." now she snuggled closer, if that was at all possible. "Now, I'm telling you… I'm interested. What do you have to say to that? Oh… wait, you don't have to say anything, I already know how you feel."

Seliph finally looked at her, face crimson. Finally, he stuttered "C-Can I…?"

"Yes." said Larcei, smiling.

"Bu-! You…You don't even know-"

"It doesn't matter what you were about to say, you can do it." she whispered in his ear. And with that, she had him caught.

He leaned forward, clearly trying to psych himself up for a kiss, so she took over and snogged him.

* * *

Ulster went into full on panic mode once Julia got kidnapped, because at that point, he was sincerely in love with her.

On her end, having her memories restored threw Julia's emotions into a tizzy. At that point, she'd hadn't been quite in love with him, but she was well on her way there. But now, knowing who and _what_ she was did something to her on an emotional level.

She simultaneously wanted to push him away and hold onto him forever. Knowing the truth about her family made her feel… cursed. That she was doomed never to have a happy family because of her blood connections and attempting to find love would only lead to tragedy.

But at the same time… it was precisely _because_ of what had happened to her that she wanted to throw caution to the wind, and take what she wanted because she had no idea what could happen to her. She wanted to throw everything to the side and wrap herself in a lover's arms. She… she couldn't bring up these conflicting emotions to her father when they spoke.

When she was finally freed, Ulster came running, calling her name. Then he slowed to a stop as she stared at him. "Julia… do you remember me? Do you still… care about me or… or do you want me to leave-"

He was interrupted by Julia doing the boldest thing that she had ever done. She leapt into his arms, all of her limbs attaining a vice like grip. Then she kissed him. Then she said "I've been… putting my mind together. I know who and what I am now, but… I still want you, if you'll have me."

Once the war ended and everything got settled, both couples were officially engaged. Since it was two families uniting, they decided to make it one wedding. It was a tremendous affair, and there were a good number of people who were scandalized by the fact that the emperor and his sister were marrying _Isaacian_ royals.

After all, didn't this entire mess start with those Isaacians? Of course, explanations were made and the blame was properly spread instead of concentrated.

Of course, not everyone was satisfied, but after this, it was generally decided that these unions were fitting. Since the horrors of the past two decades began with the two nations trying to kill one another, it was fitting that their heirs would fall in love and unite them and intermingle their bloodlines.

Julia brought a fancy bouquet, and Larcei brought a fancy bouquet and a sword. Because of course she did.

Ulster found the entire affair to be incredibly embarrassing and awkward, but both ladies thought that it was the most fun that they had had in years. Forever after they were glad that Larcei's game had gotten out of her control.

Because life and love is just a game, isn't it. They were lucky that it all turned out so well for them.

**END ENTRY FE-AVJY-TP: 00000605 J Armsmaster's log.**


	2. Outrealms: Sympathy and Transferrance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! I know this comes as a surprise, but I had a rush of inspiration, and I was able to belt this thing out, this proposed idea I came up with when I wrote the fourth anniversary story. For viewership sake, I'm attaching it to that story. Perhaps I'll make this a Jugdral sub-series, "Outrealms and Outlierrealms" or a subseries in general. I hope you guys enjoy this. The basic premise is "What if Azel and Briggid were an item?" I know that they aren't a very good combo unit-wise in-game, but storywise, I figured it might be interesting. I guess that I was right. Here's to hoping that I can get inspiration for my next story just as quickly!
> 
> P.S. Yes, I'm aware that the writing style is completely different from the previous chapter. What of it?

 

* * *

Briggid had been trained all her life to be observant. She was taught that being so would be a necessary skill for the life that she led. So, what was the latest thing that she had observed? That the young redhead... Azel, who had initially been exceedingly friendly to her, had suddenly begun to avoid her for some unexplained reason. She wanted to know why.

Of course, since he was clearly actively avoiding her, she couldn't pin him down. But then she figured out that she simply needed to ask his blue-haired friend... Lex... for help. With his help, she finally cornered him and was finally able to ask him about his sudden change in attitude.

He was extremely nervous and he fidgeted a lot before he finally mumbled out "I realized that I was treating you like a replacement."

"I...I'm sorry, WHAT?!" exclaimed Briggid giving him a hard look, which just made him even more uncomfortable.

"You... you see... I... I've always adored Ms. Adean, and I've always held onto a hope. A faint hope that someday that maybe she'd become Mrs... my wife. But then at the end of our stay in Agustria, Father Claude came along and I found out that there had been a long term, long distance courtship between them that I had not known about. And now they want to continue it now that they are nearby. To each other I mean. I didn't know how to take the news, and then you showed up around the same time, and I... I'm sorry. I wasn't being fair."

"Oh boy." Brigid cringed and put a hand on her forehead. "OK. Let me make sure that I got this straight. You've always had the hots for my identical twin, but you've always been to much of a nervous wreck to properly approach her. And then you received the devastating news that she actually has a longtime suitor that she's actually interested in. And then right on top of that, while you haven't had enough time to get over it, I popped up out of nowhere. So naturally, since your brain wasn't functioning properly at the time, your dick did your thinking for you and immediately went 'Hot Damn! Identical Twin! Score!' and ordered you to capitalize on the situation.

Azel cringed and repositioned himself out of embarrassment. "But then you had time to cope and get THAT thing back under control, and now you feel guilty for letting IT be in charge at all... so you figured that your best course of action for making it up to me... would be to leave me alone so that you wouldn't treat me as a replacement. Do I... Do I have the general gist of the situation down correctly?"

Azel cringed "That's not how I put it..."

"But it's basically what happened, am I right, or am I right?"

Azel just shifted uncomfortably, bowed his head, and mouthed "I'm sorry."

Briggid raised her hands. "You know what? I'm not even mad. At least you realized what you were doing to me and tried to fix it. Now, what you did was the absolute wrong freaking thing to do, let me just tell you that. But I appreciate what you were TRYING to do. I'm pretty sure that that girly looking guard of my sister and that prince with the weird head decoration have the same problem as you, but they won't admit it. So, hey, you just won favoritism points in my book for at least attempting a fix."

Azel still looked tense, but she could now see relief flooding into his eyes. "What do you want me to do instead?"

"How about you actually talk to me and try to get to know me? Like, actively try to learn HOW I'm a different person than my sister instead of just SAYING, wait, she's a different person.

She adopted a thoughtful pose "I mean, tell me off the top of your head, based on what you know of me so far, what differentiates me from my sister. And don't you dare say any of the blindingly obvious stuff like "I'm a pirate she's a nun." That'll just LOOSE you points in my book."

"Well... you... you're more worldly than Ms. Adean. Not... not that that's a bad thing!" added Azel hurriedly.

Briggid grinned "I'm more worldly, huh? I guess that means I'm a normal human being and not an angel that's taken on mortal flesh like my sister. So I guess that means everybody has a chance with me instead of just the holiest of holies like his grace the father whats-his-name-I-don't-care." Azel made an odd choking sound.

"Well, come on, get on with it, how else am I different from my sister?" asked Briggid.

Azel reddened "You.. you're prettier..."

"Isn't that blasphemy?" asked Briggid jokingly

"I said that you're prettier, not that you're more beautiful than her." he blurted out defensively.

"Is... is there a difference?"

"Pretty is all about how you look. Beauty... is being pretty... along with everything else." he stammered out. "Sorry! I shouldn't judge you like that! I don't know you! I don't really know if!"

Briggid simply broke out laughing. She thought his little defensive outburst was hilarious. But then she got a good look at the look on his face and caught his body language, and abruptly, she stopped laughing. He was just a bit TOO nervous for this to simply be the anxiety of a young man who'd never been in a relationship before. The misplaced guilt, this obvious concern with putting her feelings about anything and everything first, even to his own detriment... her adoptive father had taught her a lot about people, and how to use bad relationships to make firm allies. She used those lessons now in order to perform some inductive reasoning.

"...OK... now I'm sorry. Azel, this may seem out of the blue, but... how did your father treat women?" Judging by his reaction, she'd just hit a bullseye. "He...I... he was Duke Victor. Of Velthomer." he said weekly.

"Yea... uh... I've been out of politics since I was like, five. I know nothing about him. Could you fill me in?" responded Briggid.

"I... he... my mother..." Azel stumbled over his words... then he abruptly turned about and hurried away.

OK. _OBVIOUSLY_. Duke Victor had been some kind of notorious womanizing scumbag and was so loose with women that he'd traumatized at least one of his children. Still, now her curiosity was piqued and she wanted to know just what the deal was. So, since she obviously wasn't going to get the details from Azel, she decided to ask her sister instead.

* * *

OK, yea, no wonder he had reacted like that. Now that she knew the details, she could put together a picture of what was going on inside his head. A bastard born of rape, and the only bastard allowed to stay after the duke's downfall... because the new duke felt merciful due to their lack of agency in the situation. She could imagine that that did absolute wonders for his self esteem!

That explained his deal with her sister as well. From what Briggid had seen and heard, Adean was considered a paragon and was much sought after by young men all around Jugdral. Meanwhile, Azel was... accepted. Why WOULD he ever try to make a move? No wonder he always seemed so anxious and reserved. If she had his background, she would be too!

She felt a great deal of sympathy for the redhead, and resolved to attempt to help him turn his life around. The next time she saw him, she told him "I spoke to my sister earlier, I know."

Azel hung his head in shame. "Yea, I can't blame you. I guess I'm the one who crossed a boundary this time. Sorry about that." there was several moments of silence "But you know what? So what if your origins are crap? You're clearly not a crappy person, so don't let your piece of shit father prevent you from leading your own life. I got separated from my birth family and was raised by pirates. I'm not about to let that affect me. What, you think you'll only ever be a pity case and no one will ever actually care about you on a deeper level?"

"I mean, I've got Lex, and Tailtu as friends, but they've both got their own things going on and their own reasons to latch onto me. Lex's dad and brother are selfish jerks and Tailtu's dad and brother tend to just ignore her. So really we just use each other to escape. No one else at court really seemed interested in me."

Briggid sighed "Right. I doubt that was actually the case, but whatever... you know what? I just thought of something, come with me."

"What? Where?!" exclaimed Azel.

"I just remembered, the Silessians are holding some sort of festival with a dance tonight. You're coming as my plus one. I won't take no for an answer, cause I know you didn't plan to go with your friends."

"How... how do you-"

"I'll prove my point to you there, you're going to dance with me, then you're going to find that there is going to be at least girl there who'll be willing to dance with you without asking who the hell you are first. Now come on, I'll convince Adean to help you get ready." she said slyly.

"Oh...OK." said Azel weakly.

* * *

Her point was proven and this was the start. Adean got the gist of what was going on and became dedicated to getting the two of them together, as did Lex. After these two incidents, Azel and Briggid wound up spending a lot of time together and they got to know the individuals, not just the twin and the pity case. Eventually, the pity and the pining that they felt when they looked at one another was replaced with genuine affection.

This built up until one morning, Briggid awoke in bed to find him asleep beside her, arms wrapped around her waist and a happy smile on his face. As she put the pieces of last night back together in her brain, she remembered what had led to this. They had held a wedding ceremony for two of their comrades the previous night. She laid back in bed and thought to herself "Well... knowing Azel... we're going to have to plan for our own wedding in the near future due to the overreaction he's going to have once he wakes up."

She briefly considered leaving, then decided "No. That isn't going to work. This is my room. Oh well, there goes the 'help him but don't necessarily become his lover' plan. Eh, no big loss. I've made worse choices in my life."

They were officially married just before the Silessian government collapsed, with Adean serving as the maid of honor, and Lex as the best man. They discovered they were to be parents just AFTER Briggid had finally stepped foot in her husband's home turf. To prevent any arguments about her safety, they kept quiet about it for the rest of the campaign (Azel figured that she could take care of herself, being who she was). As it ended, as they were about to be lead into that fatal trap, they separated from the main group early.

Azel wanted to see if he could quickly talk to Arvis before he got too busy with the aftermath of Sigurd's victory. He wanted to formally introduce his brother to his family. Thus, they caught wind of the massacre. But because of the timing, they weren't able to prevent it, give any sort of warning to their comrades, or get properly involved in it at all. All they could do was flee.

Their routes into Isaac and Silesse were blocked, and so they fled into the Thracian Peninsula. And in a home near the River Thracia, Briggid gave birth. Twice, for another child was conceived shortly after the delivery of the firstborn.

And so they raised their children in an isolated village by the River Thracia, until fate separated them, eventually leading to both parents being rendered stone statues. There they stood, frozen in a moment in time while their children fought a war in their stead. No one thought that they were the sturdiest or finest of warriors, but all were glad to have them on their side nonetheless.

At the very least, at the end of the war, it was discovered that there was a case of a pair of orphans that were not orphans at all, and a family was reunited.


	3. The Shield's Daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I came up with this concept on the fly, I'm not quite sure what triggered it, but here is a story where Lene and Corpul swap story roles!

 

Picture this, a pair of siblings, a brother and a sister, are abandoned separately, are left to grow up at an orphanage in less than stellar conditions. For a few years, they are growing up together without realizing it, but then, an influential foreigner visits the orphanage, and winds up deciding to adopt one of the children. What are the odds that he would choose one of them out of all the other children? And what are the odds, in the realm of infinite possibility that is the multiverse, that it would always be the brother that is chosen? Impossible odds, wouldn't you say?

And yet, that is the standard result. As far as casual observations of this world go. But let us go beyond the casual, shall we? Let's take a look at a scenario where the sister was adopted and the brother left behind. Let us look at a reality where General Hannibal adopted Lene and left Corpul behind.

* * *

General Hannibal was on a diplomatic visit to the city of Darna, and Governor Bramsel was giving him a tour of the city. On their tour, Hannibal happened to notice a somewhat dilapidated building in the middle of the city.

He inquired about it, and Bramsel responded with "Oh, that's just the local orphanage. Not that many people are interested in it nowadays, so it's degraded into something of an eyesore. Of course, I can't get rid of it. An advisor or two have recommended that I do so, and I seriously considered it... but then I realized that shutting it down would cause me more problems than allowing it to remain open."

"Oh?" asked Hannibal "What do you mean by that?"

"Come General, I'm smarter than most people give me credit for. Yes, shutting down the orphanage and demolishing the building WOULD get rid of an eyesore... However, if we did that, we wouldn't actually be getting rid of the problem, we'd just be dividing into an untold number of smaller eyesores that would be harder to manage. Because, General, I recognize that it is not simply an old building, it is an old building hosting all the unwanted children of Darna. What would happen if all those children were forced to live on the streets instead? I tell you, the streets of Darna would be looked down upon by the common people and worse, the crime rate would spike. After all, for their own survival, these children would HAVE to partake in illegal activities."

He shook his head "I'd receive countless complaints concerning street rats, forcing me to fund a bigger guard, which would force me, in turn, to raise taxes, which in turn would cause me to lose some goodwill and make it harder in general to collect said taxes from a dissatisfied populace, which would require more extreme methods to GET the money which in turn... do you see where I am going with this General? I hate to look at that building, but the way I see it, having it condemned would simply create a scenario where EVERYBODY loses in the end."

Hannibal stroked his beard "May I see it up close?"

Bramsel did a double take "You want to- why? After what I just told you..."

"In Thracia, we have a certain... appreciation for foundlings that the rest of the continent seems to lack." explained the General

"Appreciation for... OH! Yes, I think I've heard about that! Doesn't Thracia have an unusually high adoption rate compared to everywhere else, despite the harsher environment?"

"It's _because_ of the harsher environment that the adoption rate is so high. Due to the conditions in which we have to make a living, it's generally expected for everyone in Thracia to serve the military in some capacity over the course of their lives. We are always in need of more soldiers, and tell me, who typically winds up as a conscript in every nation?" Hannibal shook his head.

"If our future soldiers grew up as foundlings, abandoned by the system, then... why would they want to remain loyal to Thracia, the country that abandoned them? And Thracia needs loyalty. It is essential to our way of life. Thus, that is how our tradition of adoption got its start, through a sense of pragmatism." he explained.

Bramsel shrugged his shoulders. "Huh. It sounds like you found a great practical solution to the orphan problem. I am unable to fund or enforce a system like that here, but I admit, I absolutely see its merit."

"I must admit, as far as I've seen, it is rare to see a Grannvalian nobleman with such an attitude as yourself." remarked Hannibal.

"Most of us were born with a silver spoon in our mouths. I'm a bit different. While I was a landlord before becoming governor, I was a merchant even before that. You have to look at the world differently in that line of work." explained Bramsel.

As they drew near to the building, they found a little green-haired girl out front, practicing her dancing. Having a trained military eye, Hannibal could tell that her movements were consistent with someone who not only practiced her motions a lot, but who was self-taught. In the military, each scenario had a tendency to leave a distinctive mark on the way a person moved. Her style reeked of both distinctions.

"Young lady." he called out to her. "I can tell that you taught yourself how to do that, and that you practice a lot. Tell me, why is that the case?"

The girl stared at him for a few moments, then she said "I don't really remember mama, but I remember her outfit. I think she was a dancer. So, I'm gunna be a dancer so that I can find mama." then she went right back to her dance practice.

Bramsel snorted. "Poor fool. Her mother was probably a working woman who couldn't afford her. If she continues on like this, she'll wind up one herself. I happen to have an eye for beauty, General, and I can tell already, when that girl becomes a woman, she'll be QUITE popular with the men." hints of drool appearing at the corners of his mouth as he imagined such a future.

Hannibal gave Bramsel a disgusted look, then looked back at the girl. Unfortunately, he realized that, as crude as he was about it, Bramsel DID have a point. Her green hair and eyes were a rarity in this part of the world, and considering the body type generally required in that line of work... It made her stand out, and if she continued down this path and stayed in this region, the local population of young men would likely come to view her as a sort of "exotic dancer".

Hannibal instantly felt a rush of pity and concern for the young girl, which only increased as he toured the place. She'd be eaten alive by the local "wolves" if she were simply left here.

So, what he did immediately was leave Bramsel with a donation that was required to go towards the orphanage (which came with a threat over what would happen if it was used for anything else). He left temporarily, got his house in order, and then came back, and asked to see the little girl that he had met. Lene. As he found out, her name was Lene.

Hannibal and Lene had a long conversation, and thankfully, Hannibal managed to convince her that staying in Darna wasn't the best idea, and that she'd have better chances of reuniting with her mother if she had his help. And so, the next day, little Lene moved to Thracia as the Shield of Thracia's daughter (the adoption procedures in Darna weren't particularly rigorous. If an adult showed interest, the orphanage practically threw the kid in their hands and wished them good luck).

Over the years, as predicted, Lene grew into quite the beauty. She got used to wearing proper clothing, and even formal wear (though she didn't particularly like it), but she never lost her dancing habit. In fact, she simply learned new kinds of dances and became well known for her skill in the ballroom. And thus, she became an idol to a number of young officers in and outside of Thracia.

* * *

Now, you may be wondering "so in this scenario, whatever happened to the little brother she never knew?"

Corpul grew up in that orphanage, and grew to be rather religious. His attitude caught the attention of a local priest (the benevolent kind), and he took Corpul in as a sort of apprentice priest in training.

So, I imagine now that the next question in your mind would likely be "in this case, how would Lene and Corpul's swapped roles influence the events of the original timeline?

In the case of Corpul, he had an interest in wayward souls. And so, Javarro's mercenary band caught his interest while they were stationed in Darna. He would constantly visit Bramsel's fortress home in order to speak with them, and anyone else who would listen to him. Bramsel hated him, but didn't really have a legitimate reason to bar him from the fortress, Javarro himself found him naive and annoying, but most of the mercenaries saw him as a cute but sharp kid who they were willing to humor.

There was, however, one person in the whole group who had an outright positive response to the kid. Guess who?

Ares realized rather quickly that Corpul was abnormally wise for his age, and he grew to enjoy talking to him. He grew, over time, to see Corpul as something of a kid brother. They only ever had one major argument... which somewhat paralleled the original events.

When Ares explained to him that he was going to fight Seliph's army, Corpul did something unusual and a bit out of character. He got mad. He proceeded to decry the morality of his decision, and proceeded to counter every argument that Ares could come up with in favor of fighting them. It ended with Corpul declaring that he would have to pray for the salvation of Ares' soul, now that he had damned himself to the wrong side of the gods' will. He intended to come across as overly concerned, and hoped how passionate he was would show Ares how passionate he was about his safety... but instead he came across as holier-than-thou, as typical of youth in the clergy.

Ares stormed out, with the words "religious zealot" being thrown in Corpul's direction, and not just by Ares. Bramsel saw this as an opportunity, and had Corpul and his mentor thrown in the dungeon for "attempting to interfere with the defense of Darna."

Of course, their argument had still unnerved Ares, and he was unintentionally brought into Corpul's line of thinking due to a stray comment from Javarro, which revealed that he knew Corpul's likely fate for that, and that he didn't care about the fact that Corpul wasn't even a teenager yet.

"Good riddance, one less religious nutjob in the world." were his exact words. In this case, THIS is what caused Ares to turncoat, though he was less desperate and less obvious about it, as the danger wasn't as extreme as it was in Lene's case.

As for Lene herself? Only a little was changed on the Thracian side of the war. Sort of. She was also chosen as leverage to use to force Hannibal to fight the Liberation Army, but Hannibal was a bit more desperate in this case, for he was terrified that Distler would attempt to take advantage of the fact that Lene was his prisoner.

A justified concern, as Distler DID, in fact, attempt to take advantage of the situation. But he was utterly unable to really make the same kind of stronghold over Lene as he would Corpul. Because, due to concerns for her safety, Hannibal had not only trained her how to use her sword, but also how to use a shield and spear, and how to fight with them. She she had the skill to back up her strong will in this scenario.

She was quick to spell out to Distler that she was simply cooperating with him so that she and her father would have less trouble with the Thracian government, but that if he attempted anything with her, the news WOULD reach her father somehow, and his reaction would be the same as if he had murdered her, and she would personally make his life a living Hell.

Distler wisely chose to mostly leave her alone after that.

When all was said and done, there was only one more major difference in this scenario. Hannibal had kept his word in helping to search for Lene's mother, and thus Sylvia was discovered during the war, and thus, the siblings were quick to learn each other's identities.


End file.
